pet, meanie

XV

"Oh fuck, I've never asked him..." Mingyu muttered to himself, hand absentmindedly holding onto Wonwoo's as the pair walked back home.

The rain had stopped, yet Mingyu forced Wonwoo into another layer – credits to his own jacket. Wonwoo wanted to point out the obvious uselessness of just a single, full-sleeved T-shirt, but decided against it – since he knew better than to convince Mingyu to take his jacket back; Mingyu wouldn't listen.

Wonwoo was vaguely aware of Mingyu mumbling to himself, too preoccupied with other things to think too deeply about it. A shiver ran up Mingyu's spine, making him shudder like a wet dog, and he brought his arms to his side for some warmth.

"Mingyu, take the fucking jacket-"

"I'm good," snapped Mingyu.

Wonwoo huffed at the stubbornness of the boy. He snatched his hand, and held it tightly to shove it inside one of the larger pockets of Mingyu's jacket. "Why don't you listen," he tutted.

"Because it's not that cold," countered Mingyu, lips quivering ironically.

"And I totally believe that," Wonwoo rolled his eyes, shuffling closer to Mingyu.

As they neared his house, Wonwoo realised he didn't want to go back home yet. Being with Mingyu made him feel much at peace, and he wasn't ready to dive back into the tension at home. He stalled, not realising that Mingyu was quite good at catching onto stuff like that.

"You wanna go somewhere?" he asked.

Wonwoo nodded, looking down at his feet soaked because of the shitty puddles. Mingyu chuckled, and pulled him in for a side-hug, ruffling his hair. "Let's go somewhere else,"

"Where to?"

"I feel like a walk,"

"A walk it is," Wonwoo beamed up at the boy, grateful for the attempt he made to divert his attention.

A buzz sounded through Mingyu's pocket a while later. He turned, and dug around in the other pocket of his jacket on Wonwoo to bring his phone out. As he read through the text, his face morphed into a look of annoyance, and threw the device back in the pocket, cursing under his breath.

"What's wrong, Mingyu?" Wonwoo questioned, peering up at him.

"My parents just left the house, and I don't have the keys. They won't be back before nine," he pouted.

"You could come around mine," Wonwoo offered before his brain could formulate his thoughts.

"You sure about that?"

"Yep, my parents are chill that way. Though my mum keeps asking me what I've been giggling at, looking at my phone,"

Wonwoo was a fucking idiot who spoke too much whenever he wasn't supposed to.

Mingyu laughed, loud and clear; he'd apparently understood what Wonwoo had blurted out of the blue. "You giggle at my texts?"

Wonwoo turned redder than the fire hose in his backyard, avoiding eye contact with Mingyu – who grinned at him like the Cheshire cat. "Fuck," he muttered under his breath. "Forget I said anything, do you wanna come over? Without mentioning the texts?"

"Yeah," agreed Mingyu, mimicking a motion of closing a zipper over his lips, although his cheeks looked like they would burst any second due to the laughter he tried to suppress.

"Kim Mingyu, you little-"

"What! I haven't said anything!" he giggled, eventually holding a hand up to his mouth, and snorting quite unhelpfully.

Wonwoo couldn't help but shake his head in disbelief – both at Mingyu, and his own stupidity.

"Where are we headed?"

"Anywhere you want, you just said you wanted to walk!" Wonwoo exclaimed, making them burst into fits of giggles.

--

"Mum! Dad! I'm back," Wonwoo yelled into the silence of the house, toeing his shoes off at the doorstep, as Mingyu mirrored his actions.

The boy looked nervous, and Wonwoo swore he could see droplets of sweat forming on his forehead – as though meeting Wonwoo's parents was nerve-wracking.

Oh. Oh. Fuck, he should have realised earlier. Well, it was too late to turn back, and he could only hope Mingyu didn't think too much of it.

"Hi love, I was just gonna call- Who's that? I've seen him before," his mum said, walking down the stairs into the living room.

Mingyu bashfully waved his hand, flashing a small, anxious smile as he shuffled on his feet. Wonwoo would have pinched his cheeks right there, only if his mum hadn't been in the same room as them. "Hi... Mrs. Jeon, oh shit- Um, I can call you that, right..?"

His mum laughed, sending waves of relief through Wonwoo since she'd taken the suddenness of the situation lightly. "Yes, sweetie," she answered. Mingyu grinned wider at the confirmation. "Are you guys together?" she asked, holding back a teasing smile she was definitely going to annoy Wonwoo with later.

Wonwoo flushed pink, eyes going wide as he felt Mingyu freeze for a split second next to him. His demeanour relaxed just as fast, and his smile looked less forced, and more at ease.

"No," said Wonwoo.

"Yes," said Mingyu, suggestively eyeing Wonwoo – who'd answered at the same time as him.

Wonwoo's mum grinned evilly, although Mingyu was too new to her for him to catch that. If Wonwoo could have, he would have rolled his eyes, making it clear that he didn't want to talk about whatever his mum expected him to. Before the conversation – if it could even be called one – could escalate, he grabbed Mingyu by the wrist, muttered a hasty 'see you later, mum,' and made Mingyu follow him all the way till his room.